Overall bad experience. Full siding and window replacement…read more
Biggest problem: Bill Vaughn (Salesman)
Minor issue(s): Cleanup, language barrier
Pros: Work performed
From the beginning, Bill was not a pleasant individual to work with. From the original estimate appointment to the ordering itself, he was over an hour late without so much as a phone call. He acted like he did not want to be there, did not explain things well, etc.
Ordered windows and siding the first few days of July, with knowledge of it requiring a 6-8 week lead time. Medium-dark blue "Indigo dutchlap in a Triple-6 Craneboard, with white trim." -Bill
Time passed without any word, ended up calling Bill the first week of September looking for an update. Said he didn't know and that he'd check. Come to find out the Craneboard siding we ordered had been discontinued weeks prior, if it was even available when we ordered. So we had to order a different color, which was okay we had a backup, but the windows were just getting shipped and should be there the following week.
A few days passed, and we receive another call from Bill saying that the second time we had ordered, that siding was also no longer available and that we would have to do something different. By now we were starting to get a little bit frustrated, because we felt like we (as customers) should not have had to be doing the checking. But we said okay, we will do the tear off and be ready for you. So we did all the tear off, and asked Bill (since siding plans had changed) if the house wrap we were going to use to protect the exposed wall was going to interfere with the new insulated house wrap he recommended (since we had to remove the fanfold from the existing wall.) He said it would not, so go ahead and install it.
Now it is mid September, and Tate and Shay show up to install the windows. They were very surprised and appreciative of all the hard work of tear-off having already been done (since they were doing full-frame replacements.) After 3 days, they had all the windows in and taped up to the house wrap I had installed. I think they did a fairly good job and I have no complaints about the work they performed. They did end up using a few of my tools (since they didn't have it with them-didn't bring them), and there cleanup job was maybe a 7/10.
A week passes, no word on siding. The following day a truck shows up in the yard, no phone call, no alerts. It (the siding) then sits there, fully wrapped, for 2 weeks. I don't know what's there, or even what color or style got ordered.
Another week passes. Siding guys show up. Though there was a minor language barrier, they're good guys and they tell me the house wrap needs to come off. Bill confirms even though he said it was OK earlier. They work to install the new insulated housewrap and proceed to put trim and siding on.
Now I'm a busy guy and wasn't around for the day while they were working. I came home late and noticed everything was blue; trim included. Called Bill early the next morning and he "forgot" the trim was supposed to be white. So the siding guys proceeded to tear off everything they did the day before. Came back that night and noticed the trim around the windows were still not white. Bill says "Oh, well most everyone has us do it this way. The only accent color is the corners." In my head anything that isn't the main siding piece is trim, including all J-Trim, and after driving around to other houses and looking at their accent colors and trim colors, I stand behind that decision.
Bill didn't agree and didn't offer to fix the problem. All we got credit for was the housewrap. And since we didn't feel like interacting with him anymore, I guess the house will remain this way.
Bill needs to leave Minnesota's 1st Choice, and based on our experience, there is ZERO chance I'd be recommending them.
